Vista Street, Part 2 – Apprentice Wordsmith

The thoroughfare led them to the district’s famous fish market. The sour tang of stale fish and rotting kelp greeted them as they approached its iron gate. Overhead, a metal sign in the shape of a fish swung on a single hinge. The paint peeled away to reveal rust beneath.

David stopped in front of the gate, resting his chin on his hand in thought.

After a few moments, Bern asked, “What?”

“Give me one minute. I want to check this place out,” David answered.

Bern sighed. “Sure thing, boss.” He slathered that final word in as much annoyance and sarcasm as he could.

The market stalls were a silent cacophony of barrels, nets, and cold grills. Their torn canvas awnings sagged, fluttering weakly whenever a stray breeze stirred them. “What are we looking for?” Sakari asked as the three split up.

David answered, “Anything unusual, out of place. Something too new, too clean — or intact.”

“Anything with Kesa on it?” Bern wondered.

“That’d be a bit too obvious, but sure.”

“Kesa. Wait.” The name rung a bell in Sakari’s head. “That woman in the park — wasn’t Kesa the name of the company she said all the text messages were coming from?”

“Yep. The very — same — one,” David said between grunts as he rolled a barrel aside.

A faint glow caught Bern’s eye. He found jelly streaked across the cobblestones, speckled with a substance that glowed neon green. These streaks formed a trail that Bern could follow through the market.

Bern heard something move — something distinctly non-human. He looked up and saw a lobster wander by. It was unnaturally red and as long as Bern was tall — a Gibberish for sure. The Gibberish caught sight of Bern and quickly skittered away. Laughing to himself, Bern chased after it.

David climbed over a counter to search the inside of a stall. He didn’t expect to hear a splash when he landed. The whole stall was flooded with ankle-deep water. His eyes were pulled into the rippling darkness. He saw shapes darting about just beneath the surface — shapes a distant part of him recognized. Fish fins. Serpent scales. The jaws of a leviathan. He scrambled back onto the counter to escape the water and the bad memories it was conjuring.

David heard someone run past. He looked up and saw Bern chasing after something. He must’ve spotted a Gibberish. Cursing under his breath, David abandoned the search to follow Bern. He didn’t want to bring Rianne bad news today.

Sakari found a large pile of shredded netting and torn canvas. The stall it was tangled around bore deep, parallel gouges. Maybe the claws of a particularly large Gibberish dug into the walls during a struggle. Sakari spent several minutes unwinding and digging through this suspicious pile. Beneath it, he found a wallet with a tree embroidered on it.

Sakari held up the wallet triumphantly and announced, “Hey guys, I found…” But then he saw that he was alone. “Guys? Hello? David? Bern?” No voice answered him.

Sakari’s vision dimmed. The sound of the wind muffled to the faintest whisper. He didn’t notice when the wallet slipped out of his hand, falling back into the netting.

The darkness was his old enemy. It dragged him away from his home, his family, nearly everyone he ever cared about. Sakari fought so hard to get Kate back. They both fought so hard to get Rafael back. The three of them finally found Master Phong and, together, stopped the hungry dark. Yet by the time they did, it was too late to save anyone or anything else. Tears pressed at the back of Sakari’s eyes — the weight of all he had lost hitting him anew.

You are right to grieve, young one, Master Phong told him once. I will not shame your sadness. I will not tell you to ignore your pain. Yet all things fade with time. Some things leave when we are ready to let them go. Others are taken without warning. You shouldn’t fear being alone, Sakari. You don’t need anyone or anything else. Not Bern. Not David. Not me. Not Rafael. Not Kate.

Sakari wondered if their fight was all for nothing.

Maybe so, Master Phong replied. You didn’t need them before. Why are you clinging to them now?

Wait. Master Phong didn’t say that. He’d never say something like that. Sakari slowly realized that it wasn’t his memory of Master Phong speaking to him. It was something else — something corrupting and warping his memories to suit its purposes.

Those three men in Coldessi Park — Shavonne said they were possessed. David said the people who imprisoned and tortured him were possessed. Was the darkness trying to possess Sakari too? He refused. He could not — would not — let the enemy win. Over and over again, he screamed no.

A sharp crack of splintering wood shocked Sakari back to his senses. He had summoned his sword and struck the side of a crate so hard his weapon cracked. White light flowed out of his brand and down the blade. It settled inside the crack, repairing it.

Sakari watched the light fix his sword then fade away. He resolved to find David and Bern. To do that, he needed to leave where he was now. That worked the last time he faced the darkness. It could work again. His blade restored, he ran deeper into the fish market, searching for his friends.